Equipment, either vehicles or backhoes, have been built where the hydraulic pistons and piston rods are not exposed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,965 discloses an outrigger mechanism for a truck or similar vehicle which includes a rear stabilizer assembly 15 and a forward stabilizer assembly 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the support leg 19 of rear stabilizer assembly 15 may be operated by a hydraulic ram 25 within the framework 18. U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,741 discloses an outrigger type stabilizing support assembly for a truck mounted loader, including a pair of selectively actuated, ground-engaging stabilizing members--a swing-out arm and a vertical support post--both powered by a common hydraulic ram. Both these patents illustrate a construction where the stabilizing structure or arm is hollow such that the hydraulic rams are enclosed within the structure. These patents fail to recognize the problem which the guard of the present invention solves.
The present invention is directed to a guard for equipment that has an exposed hydraulic piston rod which operates a stabilizer arm. The ram guard of the present invent protects the piston rod from being hit by dirt, rock or any materials which will collect on the rod or scar the rod and cause the piston to leak fluid. The only way to restore a scarred rod from leaking fluid is have the rod repolished which is very expensive.